Workouts for golf should target the key physical capabilities that underpin performance, and combat aging. The good news is that the workouts that improve mobility, strength, and club head speed are also the ones that improve healthspan and longevity. So whether you are a junior, middle aged, or senior golfer, this information is highly relevant to you.
How to work out For Golf
Golf is a sport heavily reliant on physical power. At every level you go up, physical capabilities are higher and club head speeds are faster. If you are over 40 and have lofty golf goals, it’s highly likely physical training needs to be a top priority. While some of you might think “I hit it far enough, I don’t need more swing speed”, if you’re not working on it, you’re gradually getting slower.
What should we focus on in our workouts for golf (& life!)
Mobility
Adequate range of motion in key areas ensures we can achieve the rotation and swing length we need in the swing. How much we turn our pelvis and torso, and how far our hands travel “around the clock” in the backswing, play a very important role in our club head speed. Without sufficient mobility in these joints we are fighting a losing battle. The beauty of mobility training is that it doesn’t require any equipment and is not very taxing. Everybody can do it, and the gains are immediate. It doesn’t even require much training time.
If you want to learn more about mobility, check out – Mobility For Golf – The Fit For Golf Guide
Strength
This is essential for developing or at least maintaining muscle mass, and enabling our muscles to produce the force necessary for the club head speed we desire.
Strength is also what allows us to carry out daily tasks that were once easy, but get tougher as time ticks on. In my opinion, muscle strength is the most underappreciated physical quality in the general population. Maintaining it is critical, and requires specific training. Everyday tasks or just being active is not sufficient.
If strength training for golf is your key interest, make sure to read Strength Training For Golf – The Fit For Golf Guide
Rate of Force Development
Strength is the most amount of force we can produce. Rate of force development is how quickly we can do so. This is important in the golf swing because there is not enough time to ramp up to maximum force. We need to be able to apply our strength in a rapid fashion. Strength levels play a key role, but implementing some explosive training exercises is also very valuable.
Rate of Force Development declines more quickly and severely than muscle mass or muscle strength as we age. This is part biology and part cultural norms. A miniscule % of adults train explosively. The Fit For Golf App will help you scale this essential element of training to your current fitness level.
While we absolutely need to stay on top of these qualities year round, trying to increase them during the golf season can be challenging. Time is limited due to practice and play, and so are your recovery resources. It’s simply hard to fit everything in, and nobody wants to be fatigued or have muscle soreness when they’re trying to reduce their handicap.
Workouts for golf need to support our playing goals, not hamper them. This is why the Fit For Golf App has programs for the off season, in season, and many which can be followed year round. Effectively modifying workout programs for golfers around different times of the season is a key element of the consultation work I do with PGA Tour Pros.
Here is Mackenzie Hughes talking about the impact Fit For Golf had on his club head speed during his press conference after winning the 2022 Sanderson Farms Championship.
Golf Workouts Are Longevity Workouts
This isn’t news, but as we age, we lose muscle mass, muscle strength, and muscle power. This leads to a cascade of effects that are catastrophic for golf and life.
Strength and power are very important for golf performance and general life function, and muscle is an essential organ for metabolic health. There is no uncoupling of the relationship between “golf fitness” and “life fitness”.
It’s not all bad news. All of these things are extremely modifiable at all ages of life. With appropriate training we can hugely alter our muscle mass, strength levels, and explosiveness.
There is very encouraging research showing that resistance training quite literally turns back the clock on muscle health. The same training plan that will help increase your club head speed and distance with all clubs are also what help you stay physically capable, resilient, and independent as you age. Training for golf and training for life are not separate things. Done properly, they are one and the same.
Science Informed Protocols
The type of training I prescribe is not just what I think is a good idea. It is backed by science. My experience in training thousands of people of various ages and fitness levels enables me to scale the training appropriately while still ensuring all the critical elements are being worked on. Start at an appropriate level, slowly and gradually increase the demand of the training as you improve. This is exactly how the programs on the Fit For Golf App have been created.
Two landmark studies illustrate just how well older adults are still able to increase both strength and RFD. Importantly, they show that these qualities require slightly different training to develop.
Guizelini et al. (2018) conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of resistance training studies in healthy older adults aged 60 and over.
Across 4 to 16 weeks of supervised resistance training, participants improved:
- Maximal strength by ~18 %, and
- Rate of force development by ~27 %.
A key insight from this meta-analysis: strength and RFD did not improve in lockstep. Trials that produced big strength gains didn’t always produce proportional RFD gains, and vice versa. Getting stronger doesn’t automatically make you more explosive. You can have a big squat and a slow swing. You need to train for both.
Caserotti et al. (2008) demonstrated this principle beautifully. They trained community-dwelling women aged 80 to 89 years for 12 weeks using explosive-type heavy-resistance training. Same heavy loads you’d use for traditional strength training (75 to 80% of 1RM), but with one critical difference. The participants were instructed to accelerate the weight as fast as possible during the lifting phase. Lift heavy, lift heavy fast.
The results were remarkable:
- ~51 % increase in RFD
- ~42 % increase in contractile impulse
- ~28 % increase in maximal strength
Notice that RFD improved nearly twice as much as maximal strength. That’s the explosive training effect. Even more striking, the age related RFD deficit between this 80 year old group and a 60 year old control group was reduced from 43% before training to just 15% after. Two decades of decline, largely reversed in 12 weeks.
The takeaway is straightforward. How you lift matters as much as what you lift. Traditional slow tempo strength training builds maximum force production and is non negotiable as a foundation. But to develop the rate of force development the golf swing actually depends on, you also need to train with the intent to move the weight quickly. The neuromuscular system responds to intent to accelerate, not just the load on the bar, which is why explosive training works even with heavy weights that don’t actually move fast.
Together, these studies show that even in the eighth and ninth decades of life, consistent resistance training, performed with both heavy loads and explosive intent, can substantially improve both strength and explosive power. These are two of the best predictors of athletic performance and functional independence.
A Simple Off Season Golf Workout Framework
You don’t need a complicated plan. The best results come from doing simple things consistently and progressively. To summarise the 3 key areas to focus when working out for golf:
- Mobility: Particularly in the hips, back, and shoulders. In the Fit For Golf App this is targeted in the dynamic warm-up & mobility routine before all workouts. There is also a dedicated golf warm-up and mobility section, which is perfect for days in between workouts or getting ready to play. This can be done with zero equipment.
- Strength: I like to focus on big muscle groups and compound movements that work multiple joints and muscles at once. These are highly efficient and generally more motivating.
Lower Body: Mostly different types of squats, split squats, and hip hinges
Core / Trunk: A lot of weighted rotational exercises with cable pulleys.
Upper Body: Primarily pressing and pulling variations. - Rate of Force Development: This is the explosive element of your training that almost all training programs miss. Things like jumps, med ball throws and slams, explosive band work, and other high speed light weight exercises. The beauty of the Fit For Golf App is that not everyone will do these exercises right from the start. Depending on your starting level, they might not appear until you are a number of weeks into your training, with a solid base already built.
The Program Matcher in the app ensures you select an appropriate program for you. Not everyone has the same background and experience, so we scale workouts to you!
Golf Workout Program Structure:
In general, I prescribe 3 workouts per week, of 20 to 60 mins depending on the program. There are lots of options to suit your preferences and schedule.
If you follow the plan, you will see stark differences on the course. Many golfers have been completely transformed, gaining over 10mph of club head speed, 25 yards of distance, and getting in much better shape all round!
Free 10 Minute Follow Along Mobility Routine
Follow along with Mike through this free 10-minute mobility routine designed to improve range of motion between workouts.
Sample Golf Fitness Workout Exercises
This is a simplified example of a workout I would prescribe for golfers. A full program is much more structured and comprehensive. Of course, equipment recommendations adjust based on whether you select home or gym workouts in the app.
This can be done 2-3 x week, on non consecutive days.
1. Dynamic Warm-Up & Mobility (1 set of 10 reps each exercise, 10 each side where relevant)
Workouts start with some basic mobility exercises to improve mobility in the key joints of the body, and some bodyweight exercises to warm-up the muscles and get ready to workout.
90/90 Hip Rotation
Improve hip rotation
Half-Kneeling Thoracic Rotations
Improve upper body turn.
Opposite Heel Taps
Warms up and works on mobility in lower body, hips, and back.
Hand Walk-Outs
Warms-Up and strengthens the core and upper body.
2. Power & Speed (2–3 sets of 5-6 reps)
Done as a circuit, with 30-60s break in between each exercise
This is a critical and almost always overlooked part of working out for golf and life. We must work to remain explosive and athletic. These exercises keep us practicing producing force quickly.
Countermovement Jumps
Trains the fast twitch fibers of the lower body. The legs are a huge contributor to swing speed and stability.
High Speed Band Rotation
Trains many of the fast twitch fibers of the trunk and core.
Hands Elevated Ballistic Push-Ups
Trains the fast twitch fibers of the chest shoulders and triceps.
The key in these is not whether they look like “golf specific exercises”, it’s that they teach our brain how to recruit our fast twitch muscles fibers, and how quickly it can send signals to them. This adaptation is critical, and only happens when we produce force as quickly as we possibly can.
3. Strength (2–3 sets of 5–8 reps)
Can be done as a circuit with 60-90 seconds between each exercise, if practical where you train. This gives each set of muscles more rest time between sets, which is better for strength, without increasing workout time.
In general, golfers under appreciate and overcomplicate the value of developing and maintaining a high level of strength. We should all be striving to increase how much weight we can lift for ~5 reps in key exercises.
Split Squat
Builds leg strength and muscle mass. Essential for fighting Father Time!
Dumbbell Bench Press
Trains the chest, shoulders, and triceps. These are highly relevant for producing force in the swing.
Single-Arm Dumbbell Row
Builds upper body strength, especially in the lats, upper back, and rear shoulders. The lats are another huge power source in the swing.
In the Fit For Golf app,you don’t get a bunch of exercises. You get organized programs, structured progressions scaled to your age, equipment, and training experience, with clear video demos and load tracking.
It’s also extremely simple to use!
Swing Speed Training – A Key Addition
In addition to the workout structure outlined above, the Fit For Golf App has another feature setting it apart. There is a Swing Speed Training feature that allows you to track your club head speed, ball speed, and carry distance as you train. (Or just club head speed if it’s easier for you to make air swings from home).
Adding direct swing speed training really amplifies the effects of your workouts when it comes to increasing club head speed and distance.
To learn more about Swing Speed Training, check out our Swing Speed Training Guide.
The workouts develop your physical capabilities, and swing speed training allows you to work on coordinating it directly into the skill you are trying to improve. It is imperative we include actual swinging as part of your all round “golf fitness and speed program”.
All you need is a radar and your driver. After being guided through the warm-up on the app in the Swing Speed Training section, simply make 10 warm-up driver swings, then 10-15 driver swings where you try to reach as high a club head speed as you can.
Enter your results in the app, and repeat 2-3 x week to really maximise your training.
Long Term Payoff
Working out for golf isn’t just about lowering your scores or increasing distance. It’s about investing in your body so you can keep playing, practicing, and living actively for decades.
Physical training is the best “anti-aging” tool we have. My passion and expertise is helping people maximize theirs.
Success Stories
Since John started using the Fit For Golf App, he’s seen remarkable results
- Club head speed up: 105 ➝ 122 mph
- Handicap down: 3.5 ➝ +0.8
- Left shoulder injury: gone
- Flexibility & explosiveness: way up
Dana, 35, 16 hcp. Busy Mom of 2.
- Gained distance off the tee
- Back pain gone
- Trains at home with minimal equipment
- Huge increase in total body strength
- Fits workouts into a busy schedule
Pat has been using the FFG app for 3 years!
- Over 650 workouts logged
- Club head speed improved
- Distance improved
- Fitness improved
- The best golf fitness app, very highly recommended
